It's common to feel irritable from time to time, but if you feel unusually irritable or irritable all the time or on edge, it is important that you talk to your doctor as it could be a symptom of a mental health condition, like depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder, or a physical condition.
Anger can be caused by a number of different things. Factors such as your personality, your coping style, your relationships, and your stress levels can all play a part in determining how much anger you experience in response to different situations and triggers.
If you have ADHD and are constantly irritable, don't consider it a character flaw. It's actually a very common symptom reported by adults and kids with ADHD, although adults might better be able to recognize that they're being irritable for considerably insignificant or trivial reasons.
Anger is present as a key criterion in five diagnoses within DSM-5: Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar Disorder.
Another reason we get angry over small things is that we personalize everything that happens to us. So even if something has nothing to do with us, we can't help but take it personally. This can lead to feeling like we're constantly under attack, making us angry.
While anger is not commonly a symptom that is associated with anxiety, there is evidence to suggest that when a person has an anxiety disorder, the rate and intensity of their anger can increase [source].
Anger is a secondary emotion
Typically, we experience a primary emotion like fear, loss, or sadness first. Because these emotions create feelings of vulnerability and loss of control, they make us uncomfortable. One way of attempting to deal with these feelings is by subconsciously shifting into anger.
It can give you a way to express negative feelings, for example, or motivate you to find solutions to problems. But excessive anger can cause problems. Increased blood pressure and other physical changes associated with anger make it difficult to think straight and harm your physical and mental health.
It gives us strength and energy, and motivates us to act. But for some people, anger can get out of control and cause problems with relationships, work and even the law. Long-term, unresolved anger is linked to health conditions such as high blood pressure, depression, anxiety and heart disease.
Some experts suggest that the average adult gets angry about once a day and annoyed or peeved about three times a day. Other anger management experts suggest that getting angry fifteen times a day is more likely a realistic average.
Overview. Intermittent explosive disorder involves repeated, sudden episodes of impulsive, aggressive, violent behavior or angry verbal outbursts in which you react grossly out of proportion to the situation.
SSRIs that have been shown to help with anger include citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), among others. Sertraline seems to have the most supporting data. Other classes of antidepressants, like serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), aren't widely used for treating anger.
Anger is not a symptom that everyone with bipolar experiences, but it is not uncommon either. Mania in particular tends to trigger aggressive emotions and anger. The racing thoughts and high energy levels you experience can leave you feeling angry, irritable, and frustrated.
Neuroticism is a fundamental personality trait in the study of psychology. It is an enduring tendency to experience negative emotional states. Individuals who score high on neuroticism are more likely than the average to experience such feelings as anxiety, anger, guilt, and depressed mood.
According to Michael Gurian, the author of “The Wonder of Aging: A New Approach to Embracing Life After Fifty,” both men and women experience mood swings and irritability in their later years of life. This is mainly because of the hormonal changes.
Some medical or mental health conditions might also be linked to increased feelings of anger. Your interpretations of events also play a role in causing feelings of anger. These perceptions are influenced by a range of factors including genetics, upbringing, past experiences, stress levels, and personality.
Testosterone activates the subcortical areas of the brain to produce aggression, while cortisol and serotonin act antagonistically with testosterone to reduce its effects.
Under some circumstances, oxytocin may increase aggression by enhancing reactivity to provocation and simultaneously lowering perceptions of danger that normally inhibit many women from retaliating. There is some evidence that high levels of estradiol and progesterone are associated with low levels of aggression.
Mood changes, or swings, refer to abrupt shifts in your mood or emotional state, and may be a normal response to stress or hormonal shifts. However, they can also signify a mental health disorder like borderline personality disorder or bipolar disorder, which is characterized by extremely high and low moods.
Increased anger with age is a common problem, but you don't have to feel angry all the time. Blue Moon Senior Counseling offers therapy for anger management, stress, anxiety, and other common problems affecting older adults.